Hi lheitzman,
Thanks again for the post and I started a new thread for an alway important latex question. We have a lot of content about this so you will be able to search and link to quite a few posts.
The USDA “organic” certification is a certification that has to do with the agricultural raw latex used in a latex core. For the raw latex to be certified as organic, the plantation has to be free of pesticide use for a number of years (in the surrounding area as well) and they have to follow organic farming methods. The organic certification process is very stringent and expensive so a product that uses it will be more expensive just because of the costs involved in certification not necessarily because the ingredients in the latex are any different.
Having the raw material certified though doesn’t mean the latex core that uses this certified raw material is certified organic. For this to happen then the factory and methods of foaming and production also have to be certified organic. Until recently this didn’t yet exist (only the raw latex was certified as an organic agricultural product). Latex green, however, was the first certified organic latex core rather than just being a latex core that uses certified organic latex. Each step of “certification” involves a cost both at the factory (which has to separate non-certified materials and production runs from certified ones and follow certain other procedures) and with the certification process itself. Since this time there are now other GOLS certified producers (currently 4 in total) and if you register on the Control Union site, you can do a Control Union Certification Search.
You can also read more about organic latex certifications here.
All of this is to say that “certified organic” can mean a more expensive product that may not have a significant benefit in terms of performance, safety, or even “purity” over 100% natural latex. There are a large number of consumers however who will willingly pay for the “certified organic” label because they prefer to support more organic and sustainable farming methods.
So it’s up to each person to decide whether the “organic” label is worth any premium it may have over an equivalent but non-certified material and this would be a personal and lifestyle choice. Wool can be the same and some of the best and cleanest, most “natural” wool made from the “happiest sheep” in the country and using all organic farming methods are not certified organic because of the expense of the certification process itself.
I personally would lean towards 100% natural Dunlop without the certification as being better value (it is usually a lower cost) but that’s just my own “personal value equation” and there is also a good argument that the extra cost of “certified organic” materials is worth the peace of mind that the certification brings with it.
Take a look around more and let us know if you have more questions.
Phoenix